SIOUX CITY | If deer get hungry enough, Laurie Taylor said, they'll eat just about anything.
Deer find hosta plants, a perennial favorite among gardeners, tasty. Taylor, Woodbury County Extension Master Gardener coordinator, said they also really love munching on hydrangea flowers, Willow trees and, of course, vegetables.
Onions, she said, tend to serve as a deterrent.
"Some of the research has shown anything in the Allium family, which is the onion family, will help with the deer population and deer grazing," she said. "They don't like the smell of that as much."
After receiving complaints from residents whose properties were damaged by deer, the City of Sioux City enacted a ban on feeding deer and other wildlife in 2012. Under the ordinance, people illegally feeding deer and turkeys can be cited with a municipal infraction, which carries a fine of up to $65, or a simple misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $100.
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The feeding ban seems to be helping control the deer population, which is on the decline in Sioux City, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The DNR conducts an overnight count in the same area of Woodbury County each year. Twenty-eight deer were seen in 2014, down from 47 counted in 2012.
It's not uncommon to see doe, fawns and the occasionally buck foraging in wooded alleys behind residential homes, especially on the city's north side.
Taylor said still she receives calls from residents on occasion who are concerned about preserving newly planted trees. Deer, she said, damage trees when they rub their antlers on the bark. During a particularly harsh winter, she said deer will resort to eating bark off trees.
"I've seen really bad damage on evergreens," she said. "A lot of times if it's a mild winter they won't touch them, but sometimes they will browse evergreens as well."
Plants and flowers deer tend not to bother, Taylor said, are daffodil, coneflower and yarrow -- a native flower that's drought-tolerant.
"A lot of things that will have a heavy scent or a certain family of scents like the yarrow, the Russian sage, dusty miller, marigolds -- they usually don't bother those," she said.
Barberry plants, Taylor said, are another good choice because their thorns tend to keep deer at bay.
If you insist on planting hydrangeas in your yard because you love their colorful blooms, Taylor said you could try double-row fencing to protect them.
She recommends placing a second row of fencing eight to 12 inches away from the first row.
"Deer don't have very honed depth perception, so if they are not sure how far they would have to jump to get into something they're a little less apt to jump a fence," she said. "A lot of times that will be effective in keeping deer out."
Electric fencing is an options outside of city limits. Deer repellents, Taylor said, could be used in the city, but she said they won't be effective in the event of dew or rain.
"At this time of year when the dew is so heavy in the morning you'd have to reapply them," she said of repellents. "You would have to be extremely diligent with those."
